Html email coding= kind of a bitch. What seems like such a simple task.... actually made me want to rip my hair out. Luckily, I am not the only one that feels this way. A web developer friend sent me an article from A List Apart "Can Email Be Responsive?" after I had vented my frustrations. I'd personally like to quote:

"Still, email design is an outrageously outdated practice. Remember coding before web standards became… standards? Welcome to the living hell of email design."

Things I learned:

Do not use JSBIN for coding this. (In a previous class "Coding for Designers" we had used JSBIN, I assume for novice purposes)

Difficult to find solid tutorials that aren't completely outdated.

See how the code looks in html, test in Litmus email testing program, note that it does not look the same, google issues, fix code, look in html, test in Litmus email testing program, note that it does not look the same, fix code, lather, rinse, repeat.

Patience with email coding and knowing there are talented people trying to make updated best practices.

And holy crap, how did I finally get that to look decent?!

Mock up for my html email coding project.

Screen Shot of how it looks in my Chrome browser

And finally, screenshot of how it looks in my gmail after litmus test.

Unfortunately, It is not as beautiful yet in mobile. Just patting myself on the back for having gotten this far!